Abstract
In this study, the effects of encapsulation with maltodextrin and reconstituted skim milk (RSM) and their binary and ternary blends with gum arabic (GA) by spray and freeze drying methods on viability of probiotic Lactobacillus casei Shirota under different stress conditions were evaluated. All microcapsules showed high survival ratios (7.91-9.37 log cfu/g) after microencapsulation. The viability of microencapsulated cells was significantly higher than free cells when exposed to stress conditions. Spray dried microcapsules exposed to low pH showed small decrease in the viability of cells compared to freeze dried microcapsules, but freeze drying microcapsules showed higher protective effect at 85 and 90 °C. After exposure to 3% bile salt, almost 2.5 log decreases in the encapsulated cell counts were determined for both methods. The results indicated that using RSM:GA mixture as an encapsulating agent showed the higher cell protection against high temperature, acidic pH and bile salts.